Lets face it, a communist based country doesn't exactly breed innovation, but I digress.

1. China is not a communist country. Believe me. It is more capitalist than The States.

2. Communism or capitalism have nothing to do with innovations. Each has its advantages and disadvantages in terms of innovation. But the massive ability of a communist country to centralize its resources does make it easier to achieve certain innovations it wants if everything else equal.

Last, your statement re HK and BMWs' frequency @ 1 in 2 is pure hyperbole: yes, it's a very wealthy city which also means BMWs are relatively expensive, but are more widely owned as a % of cars on the road.

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I assure you, in Hong Kong, you will see a higher proportion of BMWs compared to other cars than in LA.

Of course it's unfair to stereotype BMWs, but the average human isn't that intelligent to distinguish the car from the driver. It's just like back in the 80's when BMW was associated with young American yuppies, only in Mainland China the negative connotation seems to be worse. I have to say, having been to the Mainland on countless occasions, the bimmer drivers there are much much worse then in the States, Canada or UK.

In Hong Kong it's a different matter, every other car is a BMW here, so no stereotypes...at least not to the degree you get in Mainland China.

+1 This is true, pretty often you will see an entire traffic jam in Hong Kong full of nothing but BMW, Audi and Mercedes and then there are the never ending river of red taxis.

Won't be long before all Audi drivers = COCKS in China and take that torch from BMW. We passed that gallstone a few years back (ala Jeremy Clarkson). China just has to mature like fine wine

In reality every driver in china are cocks. I've been driving in China and Hong Kong for about 4 years now and I gotta say, doesnt matter what car you drive, you're an asshole. Be it an Audi, BMW, Benz, Bentley, Rolls, or BYD, or a Taxi, you're a fucking asshole lol (sadly including myself).

The thing is, China forces you to drive like an ass. To drive in their place, you must become one. To be inconsiderately rushed to wherever you are going. In a place where line-cutting is a sport and the speed limit is just a suggestion, the game is to get from point A to B the fastest or the safest. On a highway with posted speed of 100kmh, you will encounter people going 60kmh (usually on the phone) or people going 140. Then you got the millions of goods vehicles that never look before changing lanes. Everytime I cross the border from Shenzhen to Hong Kong, my heart rate slows down significantly because of the cleanliness and the order, but hell its not even close to the calm driving of Vancouver.

Buicks are cool in China because they planted their roots long long time ago. They had time to build their brand image unlike the recent followers that finally decided China was a big market. The change of view in status of cars are changing every year. If you drive anything less than an S-class, 7series, bentley, or range rover, you are probably a nobody or a follower of a somebody. Pimping aint easy, but apparently in China millions of people are making billions in China. Im still hustling to make ends meet but to see the changes in the past 5 years has made me feel from rich to poor when doing business in china.

1. China is not a communist country. Believe me. It is more capitalist than The States.

I get where you are coming from, believe me. Problem is, there is NO middle class. This is why it is still communist.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iwinit

2. Communism or capitalism have nothing to do with innovations. Each has its advantages and disadvantages in terms of innovation. But the massive ability of a communist country to centralize its resources does make it easier to achieve certain innovations it wants if everything else equal.

Please show me 5 innovations China has made since its rise to psuedo-capitalism...

I don't mean to argue as I am excited to see the progression of the country. But until China says it is no longer a communist state and holds open elections, i'm not buying it.

If Buick is one of the most sought-after rides in China, then there's gotta be something seriously quirky in that culture's preferences (although it helps to have an emperor riding around in one). Hopefully some lucky customers get a BMW at a low incentive price.

Oh well, ridiculous fads and stereotypes exist everywhere. Even in this thread, judging by the responses.

Their Buicks aren't built like our Buicks over here, much better than what we've got here. They also have models that we don't have over here like the Buick Exelle 2.0T HATCHBACK and Buick GL8 MINIVAN.

It's all brand positionining. We should not forget that BMW has a lot of budget cars around the world too, their 316i's and 116i's, some without even power windows and cloth seats still. (can you imagine, a bimmer with rolley windows?!) BMW positioned their brand here with only the premium vehicles and set the bar higher, it's a similar position Buick did with their cars over there by making them luxurious cars for the everyday person. (Kind-of like Acura).

Totally agree with you that stereotypes exist everywhere. *cough*chinese drivers in Toyotas*cough* ... we all do it. They've got their stereotypes, so do we.

It's all brand positionining. We should not forget that BMW has a lot of budget cars around the world too, their 316i's and 116i's, some without even power windows and cloth seats still. (can you imagine, a bimmer with rolley windows?!) BMW positioned their brand here with only the premium vehicles and set the bar higher, it's a similar position Buick did with their cars over there by making them luxurious cars for the everyday person. (Kind-of like Acura).

We've got the complete BMW program here, but finding a model with rolley windows will be a tough job, since it doesn't exist
Even base models like 116 and 316 are premium cars, due to build quality, technology and engineering.
Premium doesn't necessarily mean luxury. So like all BMW's you have to dig deep in your pocket to get that sweet feeling